Fan Mail

So the big important news this week was that Taylor Swift’s fan mail was found unopened in a dumpster. All those glittery heart raspberry letters wasted, dumped by the used syringes and old saggy diapers. Someone found them, and THANK HEAVENS alerted the appropriate authorities. It just really makes me teary-eyed that we Americans [that haven’t a clue about starvation or submission or selflessness or hunger or political issues] stand up for what’s right. Because these letters were found, ya’ll. It’s a miracle.

So it made me think about what it would be like to get a bunch of fan mail from 14-year-old girls that include pictures of their grandmothers and boyfriends and are sprayed eerily with Bath & Body Works perfume. I mean, who really likes the smell of sun-ripened raspberry? I say no one. In an imaginary world, letters to me would go something like this:

Yeah so Amanda:

I like it when you write about your kids throwing up, so if you could tone it down with the Jesus references that’d be cool. K?

My Dearest Amanda,

Get over yourself. My kids were killed in a horrific accident and here you go rambling about how you can’t find concealer to cover up your dark under-eye circles and how whiny-bad your cute little life is. Are your children alive? Okay then. Find some priorities. Included with this letter is a bottle of Raspberry room spray to remind you to be freaking happy about your life.

Manda Panda,

I’m 13 years old and live in Nebraska and I just don’t understand all these references to macaroni and cheese, peas, baking bread, and Neimans. One minute you’re all fun and bubbly and then you’re all “let’s rise from the ashes” and “oh, the suffering.” And OMG did you really include a recipe for bran muffins? How old are you? Can you have a theme or something? Because I’m getting confused. #hillpenblog #randomnthoughtsareboring #macaronirocks #ilovehashtags #callme #sunripenedraspberry #Gohuskies!

Amanda:

I think your photo is manufactured and you’re really a robot. Can you meet me Friday in person so we can pick berries together and I can see if you have real teeth? I’ll borrow a car and we can eat at ihop after.

For the record, I’d be so happy to get these letters to I could personally respond. After wading through the glitter, I’d write this:

My dear friend:

I hate raspberries. I don’t like the way they taste or the way they feel in my mouth and if I’m forced to smell one more sun-ripened raspberry I’m going postal on you and writing about squirrels for the rest of eternity. You’ll have to go through some sort of unsubscribing process, which would take you like 2-3 long minutes. You want that? Huh?

And about Jesus. Well, he’s a dear friend and rules my life and carries me on days I can’t stand, or bake bread, or cover up the circles. So it’s hard not to talk about Jesus, or God the Father, or how the holy spirit fills up my empty spaces.

But now all I feel is bad because I went crazy on you about raspberries. And you were so nice to send me the scratch-and-sniff stickers. Just for being so hateful I’m eating a handful of them right now as my penance, and spraying my 7-year-old’s room with some sort of [insanely awful] spray sent to me from a grief-stricken woman, and hoping that the smell of cinnamon buns comes back into favor. #cinnamonbun2014

So go huskies. And grief counseling. And perspective. Go Jesus and letters and kids throwing up and even raspberries. It makes up the big basket of life, and that’s good no matter what it smells like.

Love and kisses,

Me.

P.S. I’m not a robot. Hence the dark circles.

P.P.S. I only ate one raspberry, because I accidentally spilled the carton on the floor and I couldn’t stand to pick up their hairy, spiny, squishy little bodies. So I swept them up and smeared red all over the travertine like blood and now I’m angry again. But I ate one, so let’s just stick with that.

I went to sleep laughing about your FB comment on our Frio Sister thread. Then I laid in bed reading this on my phone, laughing my head off first thing this morning, tears rolling down my cheeks. Your words are good medicine to start and end my day. Thanks for being you.